Towns on bay ask for DEP help

Nov. 6, 2012

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New Jersey fund: The state has established the Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund to help local families. To donate, visit www.SandyNJReliefFund.org or send checks to: Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund, P.O. Box 95; Mendham, NJ 07945-0095. More information: info@sandynjrelieffund.org. United Way: The United Way of Atlantic County is coordinating recovery effort donations through its Volunteer Center. Call (609) 404-9945. Salvation Army: To donate money, visit www.salvationarmynj.org or call (800) SAL-ARMY. To donate clothing or household gifts, bring them to Salvation Army Family Store, 2279 S. Delsea Drive, Vineland. To volunteer with the Salvation Army, visit www.salvationarmynj.org/volunteer. American Red Cross: To donate, visit www.redcross.org or call (800). RED-CROSS. To make a $10 donation from your cellphone, text the word “REDCROSS” to 90999. Donated item: The following groups that are collecting toiletries, cleaning products, nonperishable food, diapers, new baby clothing and new blankets: • St. Gianna Beretta Molla Church, 1421 New Road, Northfield; noon to 5 p.m. daily for drop-off or pickup. • St. Apostolic Tabernacle, 923 W. Washington Ave., Pleasantville; 3:30-7 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays for drop-off or pick up. Donate your time: To volunteer to help, call the states volunteer emergency response hotline at (800) JERSEY-7 (800-537-7397).

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MAURICE RIVER — Local officials and area legislators are pressing for immediate repairs to a state-owned dike damaged here in Hurricane Sandy even as another storm is bearing down with the potential to make conditions much worse.

A nor’easter is expected off the coast on Wednesday and should last into Thursday. Winds of up to 55 mph and at least moderate coastal flooding are anticipated, although the storm itself should not get closer than 50 miles to shore, officials said.

Gordon Gross, coordinator of the township Office of Emergency Managememt, said Monday there has been no tangible action on the dike or levee from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. Local officials brought the situation to DEP attention immediately after the hurricane, he said.

“We understand they have a lot of major concerns,” Gross said. “But we are also concerned about our town.

“The day after the storm, I met with DEP on their No. 82 (levee) that was breached,” he said. “And to be honest, we haven’t heard anything from them about it. And we have water coming in. Even at low tide, we have water coming in and the breach is increasing. With another storm coming in, we are very concerned.”

Gross said Monday evening DEP officials are expected in town Wednesday to discuss the situation and inspect the area.

Gross said water is topping the dike, which protects several communities in the area of Matts Landing. The dike stretches about 1.5 miles, protecting Heislerville, lower Leesburg and some of Delmont. That area holds numerous marinas and a mobile home park.

The water is forcing limited use of Matts Landing Road, now open only at low tide and reduced to one lane. The flooding eventually will compromise the road’s integrity, Gross said.

In addition, Gross said, Newell and River roads are affected.

However, the dike in Maurice River is only one of at least three such structures along the Cumberland County bayshore that were damaged in the hurricane.

On Monday, a letter was sent to DEP Commissioner Bob Martin from state Sen. Jeff Van Drew and N.J. Assemblymen Matt Milam and Nelson Albano about the situation in lower Cumberland County.

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The letter, also released to the press, asks for the state to “implement an immediate, short-term fix” of damaged dikes in the county before the nor’easter arrives. It also asks for work to start on a permanent plan for protecting the area against flooding.

The letter grows out of two weekend meetings with officials in Maurice River and Commercial townships.

Maurice River Mayor Kathy Ireland and other officials met Saturday afternoon with Van Drew and Milam, both of the 1st Legislative District. Another meeting was held on Sunday with Commercial Township officials.

“They’re really worried about undermining and destroying the road,” Van Drew said on Monday. “That’s one issue.

“In Greenwich, there are always these issues,” the senator added. “It’s all been exacerbated by the storm. At the Port Norris marina, there was close to a 150-foot hole blown in the riverbank and all that water poured into Main Street. Even though it is on private property, it obviously affects the public good.”

The letter from Van Drew, Milam and Albano also asks that DEP officials tour the Cumberland County coastal area “within the next month.”

“Following the tour, we ask that DEP officials also participate in a town-hall style meeting with local government representatives and residents,” it states. “The purpose of the meeting would be to provide an overview of the site visit and to inform the public” of the steps to be taking to address the problem.

DEP spokesman Larry Hajna said the commissioner’s office had just received the legislators’ letter.

“One of the dikes that breached was on Division of Fish and Wildlife property in Maurice River Township,” Hajna replied in an email requesting comment. “We are currently working to fix it. Others in the region are owned by local governments or are privately owned.”

Hajna added in a clarification, “Our Coastal Engineering program has a plan to repair this levee that will now need to be modified as a result of the breech.”

• The North Jersey electric utility PSEG owns property and dikes along the bayshore. The utility carried out a major wetlands restoration project in the middle and late 1990s as a mitigation program connected with its nuclear power facility in Lower Alloways Creek.

Joe Delmar, a spokesman for PSEG Nuclear, said the flooding is not a result of its Estuary Enhancement Program.

“However, we did review the EEP (estuary) areas and found damage to one of our dikes in Port Norris,” Delmar stated. “A repair plan is under development. Based on the weather impacts of the expected nor’easter, we will closely monitor the EEP again to insure there is no impact on any of the local communities from the areas we own.”

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